Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday stressed the need to stop the judiciary from “further interfering in [the affairs of] parliament”, saying that it had already meddled enough with the powers of the house.
“The matter of the trial of civilians in military courts has been taken to the Supreme Court... during the previous regime, 24 to 25 people were sentenced by military courts,” the defence minister said during the session of the National Assembly held under the chairmanship of Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
“The SC bench has split, but the results will come out today or tomorrow,” he stated.
Asif added that the people who had raised this issue had political interests, adding that the petitioners had reservations with their respective parties.
On the May 9 violence wherein sensitive state institutions and memorials of martyrs were attacked, Asif said: “Such crimes are not found in our history. The state cannot afford such crimes.”
Read more: Judiciary must be prevented from interfering in matters of Parliament: Asif
The comments by the minister came as the top court heard pleas against the trial of the alleged May 9 rioters in military courts. On Wednesday, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial formed a nine-member larger bench to hear petitions filed by former CJP Jawad S Khawaja and others.
The defence minister said that no one should put at stake the honour and dignity of the country for political purposes. “A person should leave behind a legacy so that people remember him in good words.”
Asif said that those who were sacrificing their lives for “our country are our benefactors”.
“I appeal to the house to protect our honour. The message should go out from this house that we will not compromise on our honour,” he added.
The minister said that it was not known whether anyone had been tried in military courts for this crime but it was known that some people would be tried in military courts.
He also said that apparently on May 9, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief encouraged those who were seen as political workers to spread violence.
He reiterated that it was shameful to even talk about what was done with the memorials of the martyrs, adding that the attackers of the General Head Quarters (GHQ) had been identified, however, some of them were still at large.
The speaker then made his remarks, saying that there was a risk of conflict in the area of former Balochistan chief minister MNA Akhtar Mengal in Balochistan. He directed the defence minister to contact the relevant authorities and intervene in the matter to avoid the conflict.
Asif replied that he would contact the relevant authorities and issue instructions to look into the matter immediately. He also assured that he would try his best to prevent the conflict.
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